GardenDesignOnline

Happenings January 2020

SELECTED EVENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY:

Holiday Shows:

Thru Jan 4, Garden Glow, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO 314-577-5100
Thru Jan 4, Glow, Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Botanical Garden,216-721-1600
Thru Jan 5, Lightscape, Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL 847-835-5440
Thru Jan 5, A Longwood Christmas, Kennett Square, PA
Longwood Gardens, 610-388-1000
Thru Jan 6, Gardenfest of LIghts, Richmond, VA
Thru Jan 6, Season's Greetings: America's Gardens, Washington DC
US Botanic Garden, 202-225-8333
Thru Jan 11, Garden LIghts, Holiday Nights, Atlanta, GA
Atlanta Botanical Garden, 404-876-5859
Thru Jan 26, Holiday Train Show, NY Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 718-817-8700

Events:

Jan 8-10, MANTS - Mid-Atlantic Trade Show, Baltimore, MD
Baltimore Convention Center, 410-296-6959
Jan 9-10, New Directions in the American Landscape Conference, Bryn Mawr, PA
"The Culture-Ecology Bond, Perspectives for Landscape Designers," Bryn Mawr College, 215-247-5777 x125
Jan 16-17, Program Repeats, Connecticut College Arboretum, New London, CT 860-439-5020

Jan 10-12, Maricopa County Home & Garden Show, Phoenix, AZ
10 am, Arizona State Fairgrounds
Jan 15-17, Western Trade Show, Kansas City, MO
Jan 17-19, Oklahoma City Home & Garden Show, Oklahoma City, OK
State Fair Park of Oklahoma

Jan 21, "A Gathering of Stones," Bronx, NY
1-3pm, Lecture, Stone Artist Dan Snow, NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700
Jan 22, "Heroes of Horticulture," Lecture, NY, NY
6-7:30pm, NY School of Interior Design, Sponsor: Wave Hill, 718-549-3200
Jan 24-26, Virginia Flower & Garden Expo, Virginia Beach, VA
"Backyard Party," VA Beach Convention Center
Jan 28, Plant-O-Rama, Brooklyn, NY
9am-4pm, Brooklyn Botanic Garden: Trade Show, Symposium, More

Jan 30, "The Garden Came First: Deborah Nevins," Bronx, NY
10-11:30am, Lecture, LA Deborah Nevins, NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700
Jan 31-Feb 2, Nashville Antiques & Garden Show, Nashville, TN
Music City Center: Show, Lectures, More.

LOOKAHEAD:

Feb 6, Urban Tree Symposium, Boylston, MA
8:30am-4:30pm, Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 508-869-6111
Feb 21, Green Matters Symposium, Silver Spring, MD
8am-4pm, Ecologically Sustainable Landscapes, Brookside Gardens.
Feb 29-March 8, Philadelphia Flower Show, Philadelphia, PA
March 3, Davidson Horticultural Symposium, Davidson, NC
"Gardening with 20/20 Vision," Davidson College
March 21, Northwest Hort Society Spring Symposium, Seattle, WA
9am-4pm, "Gardening for the Future," 206-780-8172
April 17-19 Colonial Williamsburg Garden Symposium, Williamsburg, VA
74th annual symposium, "Celebrate Planet Earth,"  757-565-8937

Last-minute gifts 2019

1) Go online (again) and order a gift membership for your local botanical or other favorite garden.  Any dedicated gardener would most appreciate this gift.

2) Check your local garden center for a high-quality garden knife, my favorite tool for weeding and everything else.

This one is from amleo.com ... there might still be time to order for Christmas. It's simply the best for weeding, digging, planting and the like.  And the inch measurements are invaluable.  Your local garden center may have this one or something else very similar.  You can order it here.

3) Paperwhites.  Garden centers -- and even some supermarkets -- now carry glass jars with a paperwhite or two that may bloom just in time for Christmas or the New Year.  And check Trader Joes to see if their amaryllis bulbs are yet in stock.  Can't go wrong with those, either.  Nothing like a blooming flower in the early months to get you ready for spring.

4) And if you can't think of anything else, some seed packets that will produce colorful blooms or desirable veggies will be welcomed by anyone with a large backyard garden.

 

 

 

Favorite Books of the Year 2019

The Tree Book: Superior Selections for Landscapes, Streetscapes, and Gardens (Timber Press, 2019), by Michael Dirr and Keith Warren.

Should be on everyone's Christmas list.  My review is here.

 

 

Designing a Garden: Monk's Garden at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Monacelli Press, 2019) by Landscape Architect Michael Van Valkenburgh.

A lesson in design that you'll refer to again and again. Photos, drawings, plans, sketches.  A true treasure. 

My review is here.

 

 

In her latest book, Gardentopia: Design Basics for Creating Beautiful Outdoor Spaces, (Countryman Press, 2019)  designer Jan Johnsen offers one-page design principles on a variety of subjects from color to classic garden elements, plants, garden themes, artful accents and more. Great present for anyone who loves gardening & design.

My review is here.

 

 

Think your garden needs an update?  Well, before you rip it all up and start over again, you may to consult Revive Your Garden: How to bring your outdoor space back to life (Kyle Books, 2019) by British designer and gardener NIck Bailey. I loved the design elements in this book.

My review is here.

 

 

Karen Chapman's latest book is Deer-Resistant Design: Fence-free Gardens that Thrive Despite the Deer (Timber Press, 2019).  Chapman profiles 13 deer-resistant gardens in various parts of the country, including one (no kidding) that features around 600 hostas and 300 daylilies, along with the owner's formula for what he claims is a foolproof deer repellent.  A book for almost anyone.

My review is here.

Christmas Gifts II

From the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston:

click on images to enlarge

Weird Cat Mexican Coaster

Coaster features one of the tile designs -- now located in the museum's Spanish Cloister -- from the Church of San Agustin in Mexico.
Italian marble with heat-resistant cork backing, 4 x 4 inches.
Other tile designs available, among them deer, leopard, rabbit and many more.  Each tile is $15.

https://gift.gardnermuseum.org/collections/museum-made/products/weird-cat-mexican-coaster

 

Nasturtium Spoon Rest

Everyone visits the museum in spring to see the spectacular hanging chains of nasturtiums.

Hand-painted spoon rest by Vermont-based artist Beth Mueller, five inches long.  Many other nasturtium items available in the museum shop. $36.

https://gift.gardnermuseum.org/collections/museum-made/products/nasturtium-spoon-rest

 

Canvas Tote with Gardner Quote:

No picture available, but check out the canvas tote at $21.95 decorated with a nasturtium design and the following quote from Mrs. Gardner:  "My garden is riotous, unholy, deliriously glorious! I wish you were here." We all need one of these!  11x18", $21.95

https://gift.gardnermuseum.org/collections/museum-made/products/gardner-quote-canvas-tote

 

From The Huntington shop in San Marino, CA:

Ginkgo Earrings

Gold-plated pewter cast directly from ginkgo trees at The Huntington.

2" long, $35,  Matching necklace also available.

Ginkgo trees are 60 million years old and are considered "living fossils." The trees are native to China.

https://www.thehuntingtonstore.org/collections/signature/products/ginkgo-earrings

 

From the Desert Botanical Garden shop in Phoenix, AZ:

Teal Solar Daisy Light

Powder-coated steel with two super bright LEDs with 20 lumens of light output.  Solar powered, runs for 10 hours.  Replaceable AA battery included. 18"high x 11.5" wide, $99.

https://gardenshop.dbg.org/teal-daisy-solar-light.html

Red Poppy Light also available.

 

Golden Barrel Cactus Garden Torch

All weather galvanized steel construction, hand-crafted in Kansas.  Patina finish, LED light,  tabs for mounting or staking into the ground. No assembly required.  Fillable torch canister that uses standard torch fuel/tiki oil.  Rust resistant and guaranteed not to corrode.  Perfect for garden or patio.

Two sizes, 9.25"high x 13.5" wide, $225.

13.25"high x 19.5" wide, $375.

https://gardenshop.dbg.org/golden-barrel-garden-torch.html

Christmas Books: Big New Titles & More

Most everyone knows that many of Claude Monet's paintings were inspired  by his own garden at Giverny. But you may not know that many other painters, from Cezanne to Frida Kahlo to Impressionists on the coast of New England, were inspired by beautiful gardens.

In The Artist's Garden: The secret spaces that inspired great art (White Lion Publishing, 2019) author Jackie Bennett takes you to the real homes and gardens that inspired some of the greatest painters.  The book is divided into two parts: the artists who worked alone in their own gardens; and the artists who lived close to each other in artists' communities.  Wherever they lived and when -- from Leonardo da Vinci in the 1400s to 20th century artists like Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dali, all  were inspired by the colors and forms of shrubs, trees, and flowers in their gardens.  Bennett profiles the artists and the gardens (all of which are open to the public today).  Plans and photos accompany each entry, and the book is an inspiration to designers who always work outside,and who plan the gardens that inspire so many.

This book will be familiar to many of you ... it's a revised edition of Planting the Natural Garden (Timber Press, 2019), which was first published in 1990.  This new edition, in a smaller format, has new photos and new cultivars that reflect the latest trends in perennial gardening, particularly the popularity of native plants. Aside from a profile of each plant, there are lists of their characteristics, like "airy" and "blazing" and "structural," and finally, planting plans and ideas for plant combinations.  Perfect for the modern gardener and designer.

And all those gardeners who love poetry will certainly want a copy of Marta McDowell's new book, Emily Dickinson's Gardening Life: The Plants and Places That Inspired the Iconic Poet (Timber Press, 2019).  It's a revised edition of her 2004 book on Dickinson's gardens, and it illustrates her long relationship with plants.  Not only did plants feature in her poetry and letters, she pressed flowers, sent bouquets to friends, studied botany, collected wildflowers, and tended a conservatory. Organized by season, the book includes poems, photos, botanical art, and excerpts from her letters.  A book for poets and gardeners alike.

And finally, New Yorkers who frequent Central Park might want to read Central Park’s Adventure-Style Playgrounds: Renewal of a Midcentury Legacy (Modern Landscapes: Transition & Transformation) (Louisiana State University Press, 2019) by Marie Walsh, the historian for the Central Park Conservancy.  It's part of a series of books by The Cultural Landscape Foundation that focuses on historically important mid-century landscapes that have undergone significant change.  Walsh tells the story of "playscapes" built in the 60's and 70's that were part of the so-called "playground revolution."  By the end of 70's, many of the paved, sterile playgrounds had been totally transformed, and although many of those deteriorated over time, many have been updated and renewed and better integrated into the park.   Visit them to see the best in modern landscape architecture.       

Christmas Gifts 1

From the New York Botanical Garden Gift Shop:

click on image to enlarge

Chinese Pear Print

A hand-finished lithograph by Asa Strong, reproduced from the original in the garden's library collection.  It's printed on artist-quality matt paper. 

28x20", $135.00 -- and many more botanical prints are available.

 

Herbarium Bougainvillea Print

This specimen is in the William & Lylnda Steere Herbarium, the largest herbarium in the Western Hemisphere.  Bougainvillea was first discovered on a French expedition to South America in the 1700's.  Lovely, decorative print.

13x19", $14.00. -- and other prints available.

 

Small Vector Bud Stand

For the modern home, a modern vase that will hold just a single stem (or maybe a couple) from your garden. Clear tube and gold metal.

6"long, 5"wide, 9.25" high.  Glass tube is 6" tall x .75" opening.

$9.00

Heliconia Stoneware Coaster Set

The design is from L'Illustration horticole, Vol. 9 (1862) by Charles Lemaire, contained in the NYBG Library.  The stoneware absorbs moisture from beverages and may be wiped clean with a damp cloth.  Four coasters packaged in a gift box, 4" square, $18.00.  

 

Many more terrific botanical items available from the shop.

 

Christmas Books: Stocking Stuffers

These are not going to fit in a stocking, but they fit the description of stocking stuffers, so here goes:

A good book for the beginning gardener who might want to know the difference between a pergola and an arbor, or know what a folly or a ha-ha is. 

In A Garden Miscellany: An Illustrated Guide to the Elements of the Garden (Timber Press, 2019), author Susan Staubach describes dozens of garden elements like grotto and tuteur, and terms like hardscape and pleach.  Each entry has an accompanying illustration and the short descriptions are no more than a few pages. If you know someone who's just getting started in the garden, this would be the perfect book.

Another in the series of Home Grown Gardening titles:

Attracting Birds and Butterflies (Home Grown Gardening) (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020), it's one of the best books I've seen for identifying the birds and butterflies you'd like to attract to your garden, and the plants that will do just that.  Author Barbara Ellis lets you know that violets and pansies will bring in the Gulf fritillary and that a dogwood tree will attract more than 90 species of birds.  Terrific photos of the birds, the butterflies, and the plants that go with them.

And, to continue with the series:

Container and Fragrant Gardens (Home Grown Gardening) (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020), author Peter Loewer offers expert advice on what to grow in containers and the plants that will bring wonderful scents into your exterior spaces. Did you know you can grow a camellia in 12-inch pot with root pruning?  Or that a butterfly bush does well in a loam-based commercial soil mix and should be re-potted every one to two years?  In the section on plants for fragrance, he outlines the best in annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees, bulbs and vines that will provide perfume throughout the year.  Each entry has a beautiful photo and a short description of how to grow these plants in pots or in the garden.

There are other titles in the Home Grown Gardening Series, all worth having.